MELBOURNE
By JOAN M KOP
Breezes from the ocean
Cooling off 80,000 people
From 90 degree heat.
Small strips of sandy beach
Line the ocean
For snowbirds who
Come in the winter;
Old folks mostly,
Though the average age
Of Melbourne’s finest
Is 38.
All summer long
Until October,
The city is visited
Each afternoon by
Lightning and thunderstorms
Which wreak havoc
On Shuttle watchers.
Then come Fall and next
Spring you see bugs,
Lots of them,
Everywhere.
Little ants, big ants,
Sweet ants and termite-like
Ants—
Wall-to-wall in
New houses and old,
Dripping from ceiling fans,
Waking you up in the middle of
The night for a bite to eat.
And they eat your t-shirts,
10 holes in each one,
While they are hanging up
Clean on a hangar.
Another skeleton in the closet
Is their water.
Neighbor Palm Bay found a
Cancer cluster which was blamed
On the water.
Don’t ever get thirsty or
You may die.